Hi all! Just had my 355 (LHD) serviced, but the handbrake doesn't seem to be working properly. When I pull it up, it has to be pulled quite a long way before it appears to tighten. However, the car will still roll, so clearly the handbrake is not being applied. I don't think the cable has actually snapped, because I'm sure the lever wouldn't tighten up at all, so it may just be a stretched cable that needs adjusting(?) Anybody know how easy this is to do? It would just save me a 150mile round trip to my normal service dealer. Thanks! Dem.
The parking brake cable adjuster should be slackened quite a bit, then with the wheels off the brake shoes need to be adjusted in exactly the same fashion as an old drum brake. Adjust the shoes until the brake rotor is locked and will not turn, then back the adjuster off about 5 clicks. once that is done you can then adjust the cable so that the handle comes up the proper height. Properly adjusting the shoes first should be done first as they were never adjusted at the factory and proper hand brake operation will never be achieved until that has been done.
Thanks Brian. Just to clarify, I guess this means that there is a handbrake operated drum inside the main disc? Cheers, Dem.
Correct. The brake shoe adjusters turn in oppisite directions of one another to tighten but I never remember which is which. The cable adjuster is near the bottom of the left radiator.
Brian, Thanks very much again for this clarification. This maybe a bit cheeky, but if anybody has any diagrams from a service manual they could post on this subject, it would be much appreciated so I don't balls it up! Cheers, Dem.
